Comments on: Where was God when Haiti Shook?

By: Brad Harmon

Brad Harmon — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 23:34:35 +0000

Thank God we cannot know His mind for who would want to serve a god that we can fully understand? At the same time, it can be frustrating to make sense of what He allows to happen here on earth. In one of the most harsh stories in the Bible, Job is scolded by God after having suffered unthinkable tragedies.

God did not explain Himself to Job, and He isn’t going to allow us to explain Him either. Those who try are just fools speaking to hear the sound of their own voice.
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By: LEN GANDY

LEN GANDY — Sun, 06 Jun 2010 16:34:23 +0000

Why are people stuck on the thought of God punishing others when it is a fact of life that the islands and the coast are not safe for men to live. That's common since. The islands were used for making money through slavery, not a place that we should go to retire. Earthquakes are fact of life, the same as burping. Do you blame God when you burp? Just as Brad said above, we are not in a place to judge anyone, we are blessed to be here ourselves. Let God be God and you be you all and don't go by what you read, judge that yea be not judged. WHO are you to wonder where God is at any time? Are you greater than God? Does God owe you anthing? Where was God when Haiti Shook? The same place he has always been "everywhere!" The same place he was during Katrina, Ritat, Camille, Ivan, Pompei, Mt St Helens, etc…

By: Brad Harmon

Brad Harmon — Sat, 16 Jan 2010 02:29:28 +0000

I agree with you Alison, while God does judge the nations I don't think we are in a place to know the mind of God to be able to decree such judgments. I am sorry to hear about your friends in Florida who still have family members in Haiti. I can't imagine what they must be going through.

I think if we are left to rely on only the things that we can fully understand about God then we are left with a tyrannical picture of Him. If, however, we accept the incomprehensible mind of God in light of His unfathomable love then we trust Him through faith that He does indeed make all things work together for good to those that love Him.

By: Brad Harmon

Brad Harmon — Sat, 16 Jan 2010 01:46:56 +0000

Psalm 139 is such a great passage about knowing the mind of God and the presence of God. Romans 8 is one of my all-time favorite passages where Paul waxes eloquently about how nothing can separate us from the love of God. It is such a comfort to know that a God that loves us beyond what we can comprehend, who is with us even when it doesn't seem possible, is still in control and works all things together for good to them that love Him despite our ability to understand or see how. Thanks for sharing these great passages.

By: Brad Harmon

Brad Harmon — Sat, 16 Jan 2010 01:31:48 +0000

I agree that his timing was definitely off, but he has shown a pattern of insensitivity when disaster strikes. There's a fine line between discernment and hubris, and I think he has willfully crossed that line over and over again. He reminds me of Job's friends that blamed some hidden sin that Job must have committed for the calamities that he suffered, or like those that blamed the sins of the parents for the blindness of the man Jesus healed. God causes the rain to fall on the just and the unjust, and to claim to know the motives of God is a level of hubris for which I hope never to have to give an answer to God.

By: Brad Harmon

Brad Harmon — Sat, 16 Jan 2010 01:15:55 +0000

As Christian entrepreneurs, Haiti is a wake up call to us to reexamine our roles as stewards of God's resources. I think that we too often judge what is rich or poor based on standards of living in developed countries, but we forget about those people around the world that need both the gospel and someone to help meet their daily needs.

Sadly, their have been many situations like Haiti that should have shaken loose our death-grip hold on the temporal things of this world. As I sit in my nice home looking around at all of the material possessions I have, it makes me stop and wonder if I really understand what being the least really means. I wonder if I had been that rich young ruler would I have sold it all? Would I now?

My prayers and thoughts go out to the people of Haiti, but how much nicer would it have been if my feet, arms, and wallet had went out before this?

By: Alison Moore Smith

Alison Moore Smith — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 19:39:06 +0000

I'm not fan of Robertson. But I certainly do think the scriptures make it clear that God *can* use nature to punish people (the aptly named "acts of God"). The problem isn't the idea, it's with Robertson presuming to determine just when that is. When, for example, he has a family crisis or difficulty, does he pronounce that it's because he's a sinner? I haven't heard that yet.

As for Haiti, we had a lot of Haitian friends in Florida. About a third of the congregation in my church was Haitian. I am so sad, as most of those I knew did have family still in Haiti.

The conclusion you arrive at is, I think, the most important point. We are the answer. We DO what God wants done.

Still, I think there is an answer to the inevitable questions about why God doesn't stop disasters or stop bad things from happening. It is fundamental to religion to have an idea of why we are here and why things happen. It is my belief that we are on earth, in part, as a test of our faith, of our discipleship. Yes, God does listen to us and he does help us. And on occasion, he intervenes. But for the most part, I believe he teaches us how to treat each other, how to live, how to best deal with problems, and then he lets us do it.

To me, moral agency is key in His plan. If God stopped all bad things from happening, we would have no opportunity to grow, no circumstance to serve, no path to be Christlike. In fact, there would be no purpose here at all.
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By: lawrence hale

lawrence hale — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 19:07:13 +0000

I think that one answer to your question can be found in Psalms 139 and Roman chapter 8